THE EVOLUTION OF THE SATAN FIGURE: FROM 14TH CENTURY LITERATURE TO 20TH CENTURY POPULAR CULTURE

Interest in characters deemed villainous remains a pillar of scholarship. The intrigue lies in characters’ presentation, rather than solely residing in their malevolent deeds. The motives, or lack thereof, behind their evil, whether they have redeemable qualities, and the ways in which others (in the fictional world and in reality) perceive them are all critical aspects of any character labeled a rogue.

This thesis chronicles the evolution of the Satan figure and is divided into chapters, each of which centers around one work of fiction and its respective Satan figure. The emphasized literature includes: The Divine Comedy 1: Hell (1320), The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (1592), Paradise Lost (1674), and Dracula (1897). To analyze the modern Satan figure, characters from popular culture are utilized, namely horror icons—Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger—as well as the Batman rogue, Joker. For the sake of remaining concise, not all of their various iterations are taken into account. Therefore, the horror analyses are limited to first films, barring Friday the 13th: Michael Myers in Halloween (1978), Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th (1980), Part II (1981), Part III (1982), and The Final Chapter (1984) and Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Similarly, only one work featuring the Joker receives reference—The Killing Joke (1988). The examination of the Satan figure’s evolution accentuates appearance, psychological complexity, motivation for malevolent acts, and how each figure is perceived in their respective fictional worlds and in reality.

The thesis argues the existence of parallels between the popular culture characters and Dante’s Devil, Marlowe’s Lucifer, and Milton’s Satan are what constitute their being stand-ins for the traditional Satan figure. To use Stoker’s Dracula as an example, the vampire, like Milton’s Satan, changes form to achieve his agenda. He is manipulative, yet a reliance on fear and coercion is reminiscent of Marlowe’s treatment of Faustus and Lucifer’s interactions. Ultimately, evidence suggests the Satan figure evolves from an animalistic form into a being that bears a semblance of humanity, while physically and mentally retaining the bestial qualities of its biblical and literary ancestors.